Whenever an NFL contender has lost its quarterback to a serious injury this season -- from Ryan Tannehill to Aaron Rodgers to Deshaun Watson -- Colin Kaepernick's name has surfaced almost immediately as a possible replacement. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear Kaepernick's name come up in the aftermath of Carson Wentz's season-ending ACL injury. It also shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that the 11-2 Eagles reportedly aren't interested in Kaepernick's services.
On Monday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio both reported that the Eagles are not considering bringing in Kaepernick.
"Per a league source, the Eagles have shown no interest in Kaepernick, and they're not currently expected to do so," Florio wrote for PFT.
And here's what Rapoport reported on NFL Network:
From the Aftermath: The #Eagles may need a QB, but no it won’t be Colin Kaepernick... even tho he’d drop his collusion lawsuit if it happened. pic.twitter.com/SwWrrYe1Qj
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2017
That makes sense. Even though Kaepernick is a starting-caliber quarterback with an 88.9 career passer rating, he's been out of football for almost a year now. To expect him to come in on Dec. 12 and learn a new offense on a new team and then lead the Eagles on a deep postseason run is expecting the impossible. The Eagles probably feel much more comfortable riding out the season with Nick Foles, who has been in the system all year long.
That doesn't mean Foles is a better quarterback than Kaepernick. Kaepernick boasts more experience and upside than Foles. The timing just doesn't really make sense for the Eagles to bring in Kaepernick as the starter. With that being said, if the Eagles wanted to bring in Kaepernick as Foles' backup, that'd make a ton of sense. As it stands, Nate Sudfeld is the backup in Philadelphia. That's not ideal.
Still, it seems unlikely to occur given everything that's happened in the past year. After starting his protest against racial injustice last season by not standing up during the national anthem with the 49ers, Kaepernick has spent the offseason and season as an overly qualified free agent. Many prominent figures in the sports community have speculated that Kaepernick is being blackballed.
In October, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL.
